<p>Thibodaux business owner Al Waguespack will be grand marshal for the Thibodaux Firemen's Fair this spring.</p><p>The announcement was made at Friday's annual Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department meeting.</p><p>Jeff Naul was also elected as the new assistant chief during the meeting. He replaces Mike Oncale Jr., who stepped down because of a new job.</p><p>Waguespack said he is “humbled” to be chosen to lead the parade and fundraising for the fair, which generates at least half the money for the department's budget.</p><p>“I know most of these guys, and I think the world of what they do,” Waguespack said of the firefighters.</p><p>Waguespack is not a firefighter, as is sometimes the case for the fair's grand marshal. He owns the Thibodaux fuel distributor Waguespack Oil Co. Inc. and Wag-A-Pak convenience stores.</p><p>Waguespack is a Vacherie native, though he has lived in Thibodaux since 1976, he said.</p><p>Waguespack said it'll be a tough act to follow the turnout and fundraising of last year's fair, which broke all previous records by raising $633,000.</p><p>Still, that's exactly what last year's grand marshal, Alan Savoie, said before the fair because the 2011 grand marshal, J. Vance Broussard, had helped to shatter past records as well.</p><p>The Thibodaux department also elected a new secretary.</p><p>After serving for nearly two decades as secretary, Ken Bourgeois stepped down, and Billy Royster took his place.</p><p>Fire Chief Randy Pate also gave a summary of the department's activity in 2012. Firefighters responded to 346 calls last year, compared to 357 in 2011.</p><p>There were eight building fires within or just outside the city limits of Thibodaux in 2012, and an average of 49 firefighters responded to each of these fires.</p><p>As of Dec. 31, there are 269 active firefighters in the department.</p><p>Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.</p>